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Re: Nuc with a queen that isn't laying

What has helped me to get more laying from queens held in nucs, 3 to 6 frames, some medium, some deep, is to feed pollen sub and to replace frames of newly laid eggs with empty combs. I keep getting combs of eggs to give to hives that are between queens, or that have the bees to tend them, but for, whatever reason don't have the brood. Worst that happens, is the eggs perish and are cleaned out of the combs. Best is the queens that laid the eggs, keep laying more, and many of the egg-filled combs are tended and become even more bees.

Recently I had a top bar nuc I was growing for a customer, it was strong and on the verge of swarming, while the customer couldn't pick them up for another week, so I cut two combs, full or honey/pollen from their top bars, letting the bees clean them out, outside the apiary. Within two days the bees had rebuilt the combs and the queen had filled both with eggs, letting her continue to work.

Some queens are just duds. After giving them every opportunity, I would choose a replacement method that suits your style and experience (keeping in mind it is late in the season in Ohio), and replace suspected dud queens, ASAP - you could maintain the colonies with "dud" queens by giving them combs of eggs, donated by the good queens, to ensure they keep growing their Winter bees, until they have their own good queens.